Of course, all of us are now familiar with Guillermo del Toro following his recent high-profile films such as Hellboy and Blade 2, but Optimum are finally going to give us the chance to catch up on the film that brought him to the attention of horror fans, his 1993 debut film Cronos. Yes, the US release has been available for a while, but UK fans will be able to get their hands on this Region 2 release when it hits the shops on February 13th (priced at £15.99).

A sixteenth century Alchemist creates a mystical golden scarab, which imbues its owner with the power of eternal life but also a vampire’s thirst for blood. The scarab remains buried for centuries until an antiques dealer Jesus Gris (Federico Luppi) unearths the mechanism concealed inside a statue.

However, what Jesus doesn’t know is that a dying old industrialist Dieter de la Guardia (Claudio Brook) is obsessed with the pursuit of this device to prolong his life, and with the help of his nephew Angel (Ron Perlman) will do anything to get his hands on it.

Del Toro spent some eight years developing the script of Cronos and trying to get it funded. Made in his native Mexico and released in 1993, Cronos contains many of the visual motifs that would characterise his later films, such as insect imagery.

More Information

DVD Extras:
* Director’s commentary
* The making of Cronos* Interviews with the director and cinematographer
* Stills gallery
* Sketches & storyboards
* Trailer
* A short film by Del Toro